~Predator~ Book Two

Chapter 22 – Shrouded in Mist​

(Ariedel’s POV)

I hadn’t slept in so long I forgot what it felt like to get a good night’s sleep. A nap here and there didn’t do me much good. Ever since I had that stupid dream I was afraid to close my eyes. The only way I was going to get any kind of rest was if I drank a gallon of the Elven wine they served during the evening meal. But I suspected it wasn’t all that strong and might require more than a gallon.

The sun was just starting to peak over the eastern horizon. It was a huge ball of orange flame. Spectacular enough, but not quite as radiant as the three suns of my home world of Avalon. Sometimes I missed it a lot and missed my brother Seth. I had spent twelve years here, while only eight or nine months had passed on Avalon and Earth. This planet revolved much faster, making time pass quicker. I often wondered if it was because this planet was meant only for Elves, since they were immortal, time truly had no meaning to them.

I thought of one particular Elf. After our encounter the night before, I hadn’t expected to find him in the dining hall. But he didn’t eat and didn’t sit with any of us. Instead he sat crouched on a windowsill, staring out at whatever seemed to draw his eyes. Every once in a while he’d turn and look in my direction or look at one of the others. But he never said anything.

We refrained from talking about him while we ate, but the tension could be felt around the table. Everyone had their own thoughts about what happened, but no one was going to do Legolas any good. Perhaps the only one that could have done something was Dr Oscar Leland, except he was dead.

The only one that hadn’t been affected was Anwar. To her, Legolas was her father, nothing more, nothing less. She didn’t understand what had been done to him or why he didn’t remember anyone. She was just glad he was alive.

I wished I could feel as carefree about my feelings.

I still loved him. I just needed to sort out my fears and come to the conclusion that he was still Legolas and not going to turn into an alien when the moon was full. The ridiculous thought made me turn away from the sunrise and laugh. “You’re an idiot,” I said to myself.

When the sun had started to lighten up the sky, I left the bed chamber to see if Anwar had slept at all throughout the night. Her bedroom was between mine and Thranduil’s. I quietly opened the door and stepped inside, only to stop in my tracks at the sight in front of me.

There was Legolas, resting with his back against the headboard, Anwar’s head in his lap. She was asleep while he slowly stroked her pale blonde hair.

I didn’t have to say anything because I knew he was aware I was there without even looking up.

“You fear I may hurt her,” he whispered.

The thought had occurred to me when I first saw him. But deep down inside, I knew he wouldn’t, even if he didn’t remember who she was. “How long have you been here?” I asked as I took several more steps into the room.

“She called to me in the middle of the night and I came to comfort her.”

“Why would you do that if you don’t even recognize her?” I bit my lip, wanting to take back the bitter words.

Legolas gently pushed the hair from Anwar’s face. “When she is near, though I do not find her face in my memories, I feel something in my heart.” He carefully moved Anwar from his lap and stood from the bed. Then he moved toward me, stopping a foot away. “Just as I feel something for you.”

My heart lurched into my throat and as he moved passed me, tears quickly filled my eyes. “Legolas?” When I turned around to face him, he stood with his hand on the doorknob, but didn’t turn to face me. “I’m sorry.”

He opened the door. “I know.” Then he walked out, closing the door behind him.

“Ada?” (daddy)

I turned toward the bed.

Anwar’s eyes were still closed, but she called out again. “Ada?”

When I walked to the bed and sat on the edge, Anwar opened her eyes and looked up at me. “He just left, honey,” I told her.

She immediately sat up, wide awake. “Where is he going?”

“Hopefully to breakfast. Come on.”

“You don’t have to go,” said Freak. “We’ve got it covered.” He knew he wasn’t going to win this argument, especially after seeing the determined look on the Elf’s face.

Legolas checked the power elements of three pulse rifles resting on the table. “I need to do this.” Then he unsheathed one of the long knives from the quiver beside the pulse rifles. He inspected the blade carefully.

“Fine, have it your way. But don’t expect me to sit around and watch you have all the fun.”

“I go alone,” said Legolas with finality.

“You don’t have a fucking clue what you’re getting yourself into, Lego. This queen is a hellova lot worse than any either one of us has ever run into.”

“You are correct. She seeks not to take hosts to birth her young. She intends to kill any living thing that crosses her path.”

“I suppose she passed that bit of information on to you, right?”

“They project their images to me as if I were seeing it with my own eyes. She knows I will search for her and she welcomes it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I am a threat she needs to deal with.”

“So you plan to just walk right into her trap?”

“Her confidence will be her undoing.”

Freak barked out a sarcastic laugh. “Don’t you think you’re being a bit too confident yourself? Why do you feel you need to do this on your own?”

Legolas turned to Freak, unsure of how to respond at first. “I am the one she calls, therefore I shall be the one who will face her.”

“Why not just tell her to take off and do a swan dive into the sea?”

The left side of Legolas’s lips curled into a smile. “The queen may be capable of understanding what I say, but that does not mean she will obey me.”

The sight of Legolas’s alien canine teeth unnerved Freak. “Yeah, it was just a thought.” He placed a cautious hand on Legolas’s shoulder. “You can tell me to go eat shit and die, but that’s not going to stop me from following you.”

“Do what you must do.” Then as an afterthought, Legolas turned back to Freak. “I will need one of your ships.”

Freak grinned. “Oh, I see. Now I’m suddenly of some use to you. Yeah, fine, take one of Dropships. I’ll just follow you in the other.”

Legolas replaced the long knife in its sheath and proceeded to strap the quiver to his back. “Tell me something, Freak. How many worlds do you suppose are currently infested with these creatures?”

“If I knew, I’d be out there exterminating them all. Without the proper long distance tracking equipment, it’s hard to determine where the bugs are. Lifesource had the right equipment, but the station became infested and had to be destroyed. You might not remember it, but you were there.”

“Lifesource was the place Ariedel worked when she came to Middle- Earth. Aragorn told me all that transpired in the last two thousand nine hundred plus years of my life.”

Freak laughed and then stopped when he realized Legolas wasn’t making a joke. “You’re really twenty-nine hundred years old? Wow,” he laughed again. “I gotta get me some of that anti-aging cream they keep advertising back home.”

Legolas ignored the man’s humor. “Without Lifesource a ship would need to orbit a world in order to determine if there is an alien infestation. Correct?”

“Yeah, that’s about it, Lego. I mean, we didn’t know we were dealing with an alien population explosion until we were orbiting this planet.”

“Does anyone hunt for them?”

“Some have been, mostly the marines. But they stick to covering the colonized worlds.”

Legolas picked up the three pulse rifles and hooked the straps over his shoulder. “What about the creature’s home world? Has anyone gone there to eliminate the source?”

“No one knows where the aliens originated from. The universe is a pretty big fucking place. To have that kind of time to search every single planet, shit, you’d have to be immortal.”

Legolas stared at Freak with a glint in his eye before he headed for the door.

Gandalf, Thranduil and Ripley stood together near the well at the northern part of the courtyard where the Dropships were.

“I didn’t recall anything about my previous life at first,” said Ripley. “Certain things just triggered specific memories until I was finally able to fill in the missing pieces.”

“How long did it take?” asked Thranduil.

“I don’t know exactly. Maybe three or four months.”

“Tis a short time for an Elf,” said Thranduil as he turned to Gandalf. “We will make every effort to familiarize my son with all he has known in his life. He will regain his memories and all will return to the way it was.”

Gandalf hoped the Elven king was right. “Perhaps taking him home will speed his recovery. That is, of course, if he wishes to go.”

Thranduil stood up straighter. “We will return immediately, whether or not he agrees,” he said with authority.

At that moment Legolas stepped into the courtyard and walked with purpose toward one of the Dropships.

Thranduil exchanged a glance with Gandalf before he quickly moved to intercept Legolas. “Legolas, my son, we have not had a chance to speak since you returned to Ilmarin.”

“I have no desire to speak to anyone at this moment. I have things to do.”

Thranduil quickened his steps to keep up with Legolas. “What things?”

“I go to hunt the alien queen.”

“Alone?”

“Aye, alone.”

“I shall accompany you.”

Legolas rolled his eyes and stopped to face the Elf who said was his father. “Why does everyone here wish to accompany me? I am quite capable of killing the queen on my own. Apparently, from what Aragorn’s told me, I have done it twice before.”

“Legolas, we all care about you. We care what happens to you.”

“And you?”

“I care greatly for you. You are my son.”

“Then why are you conspiring to take me back to a home I do not know? Forcing me to remember will not bring back my memories.”

“You must aspire to remember, Legolas. Your memories will not come if you do not try.”

“I have tried!”

Thranduil saw the look of pain and despair on Legolas’s face and wished he could take his son in his arms. But he knew it would only anger him further.

“My mind is shrouded in a thick mist and every time I try to pull a memory from it, my head feels as if someone is slicing off the top of it. The pain is unbearable,” he uttered through clenched teeth. “And if that is not bad enough, my thoughts must contend with the images projected to me by the alien queen. She calls to me, provoking and challenging. If I cannot control my memories, then at least I can control my actions and kill her.”

Thranduil could not find the words to respond to his son and he did not stop him when Legolas began to back away.

Standing near the open ramp of Dropship One were Zion and Sanchez. Overhearing the exchange, Zion raised his eyebrows. “He’s got some serious issues.”

Legolas turned away from his father and walked to Dropship One, only to be stopped by Zion who stepped in his path.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Zion.

“Out of my way,” replied Legolas.

In the next instant, a blade touched the side of Zion’s neck and the barrel of a blaster was aimed at Legolas’s head. Both had drawn simultaneously.

“Put your weapon away,” said Legolas, staring into Zion’s eyes.

“You first,” said Zion.

“Zee!”

Zion’s eyes shifted over the Elf’s shoulder as Freak ran out of the main building. Then he removed his blaster and slipped it back in its holster at his hip. The blade came away from his throat.

“Let him go,” added Freak.

Zion eyed the Elf for another moment before stepping aside.

Legolas frowned over his shoulder at Zion as he headed up the Dropship ramp.

Freak walked up to Zion and Sanchez. “Get the other Dropship ready. We’re following him.” As Zion and Sanchez walked off, from the corner of his eye Freak saw Ariedel running out of the building he had just come out of.

“Legolas!” she called out as she ran toward the Dropship.

Freak stepped back as the ramp raised and the Dropship slowly lifted into the air. He grabbed Ariedel around the waist when she tried to grab one of the struts.

“Let go of me, Freak!”

“Take it easy, princess. He’s just going for a little ride.”

“Bullshit! He’s going after the queen.” Ariedel stopped fighting Freak as she watched the Dropship hover twenty feet in the air. The three struts pulled into the belly and then the ship began to move off, nose lower than the rest of the body. She turned to face Freak in anger. “Why’d you let him go?”

“Don’t worry, me and my crew will be following in the other ship.”

“I’m going, too.”

Freak was about to protest, but Gandalf came up and put an arm around Ariedel’s shoulder.

“Ariedel, I just received word that your presence is required in the Hall of Manwë,” said Gandalf.

“I can’t right now, Gandalf.”

“Legolas will be fine. Come along with me.”

Ariedel turned back to Freak with pleading eyes. “Don’t let anything happen to him, please.”

Freak couldn’t make any promises. He just looked back at her as Gandalf led her away. Then he headed toward the other Dropship.

 

Chapter 23 – Is There No Hope?​

Ilmarin

In the Hall of Manwë, Ariedel patiently waited for whoever was supposed to meet with her. She couldn’t stop thinking about Legolas going after the queen by himself. The last time that had happened, he suffered serious damage and if she hadn’t translocated him to Gateway Station, he would have died. All she could hope was that Freak and his crew wouldn’t let Legolas get himself killed.

Gandalf was sitting in a chair near one of the many windows in the large circular hall. He watched Ariedel, who stood in the center. But she hardly stood still as she fidgeted and paced, staring at her surroundings, yet not seeing anything at all. He knew her thoughts were elsewhere and did not blame her for worrying. So much had happened in this young woman’s life and now it was once again disrupted by circumstances beyond her control.

Ariedel stopped pacing and turned to face Gandalf. “Gandalf, how much longer do I have to wait? I have to get back to find out the progress on finding the alien queen.”

“Patience,” he calmly replied.

Ariedel frowned at him and then started moving toward the door, deciding that she just wasn’t going to wait any longer. A crack of thunder and a flash of light made her turn back around. Then right before her eyes, five people stepped through a wall of light.

The five Valar arranged themselves side by side. Irmo on the left, then Nienna, Manwë, Varda and Mandos.

Varda was the first to speak. “Ariedel, hervess ned Legolas Thranduilion.” (wife of Legolas, son of Thranduil)

Ariedel looked at each of them, one by one. She knew without being told that the spiritual looking people standing in front of her were the Valar, although she didn’t know which of the fourteen stood before her. Her next thought was to wonder what they wanted from her. She nervously glanced at Gandalf who gave her a reassuring smile and a nod.

“You ask yourself why we have called you here,” said Varda.

“Uhm, yes. I mean, I’m honored and…and all, but I don’t understand what you could possibly want from me.”

“We want nothing from you, Ariedel,” replied Nienna. “We are here to grant a special request made by Legolas.”

The mention of his name brought tears to Ariedel’s eyes. “Is…something going to happen to him? Is that why I’m here? Is that what you’re going to tell me?” What kind of prayer had Legolas made to them in the event of his death.

“I am Nienna. You need not worry any further, for Legolas will succeed.”

Ariedel wasn’t quite convinced. Were they able to see into the future? She was afraid to ask. “Then why would he request something from you if he wasn’t coming back?”

“This request was asked of us previous to your arrival in Valinor. In consideration of Legolas’s valorous attempts to rid Middle-Earth of the creatures that threatened it over a decade ago and those that recently threatened Valinor, we have decided to grant his wish. No other has suffered such hardships during these times and despite it all, his wish was quite selfless. He thought only of you.”

A sharp pain seized Ariedel’s heart. For as long as she had known Legolas, he had always placed her needs ahead of his own. “What was his wish?” she asked as tears slid down her cheeks.

Nienna glanced at Manwë for permission to tell her and he nodded. “He asked that we grant you immortality, so that you may spend eternity together.”

Ariedel stared at Nienna before the words truly hit her. Then she fell to her knees and covered her face as she lost her battle against her tears. She wanted to die. How could she have been so cruel to shun him after everything he had been through? Even if he couldn’t remember anyone…or her…even if he now had alien blood running through his veins…he was still Legolas, the Elf she had fallen in love with, the father of their three children. All this time, he had thought only of her and not at all of what could happen to him. He could have wished for his own safety. He could have wished to have undone anything that was done to him. Instead he thought to waste his wish on her. She suddenly looked up. “You must help him.”

Nienna moved toward Ariedel and sat upon her heels on the floor. “We do not understand what has happened to him.”

“They turned him into one of them…one of the aliens. I don’t know exactly what they changed about him.” She recalled the alien canine teeth in Legolas’s mouth and wanted to throw up. “You can fix him, can’t you? You’re all powerful. Can’t you undo what was done to him?”

The keeper of the Halls of Mandos exchanged a glance with Manwë. “There is only one way.”

Ariedel looked hopeful.

“He must die,” concluded Mandos.

“What?” asked Ariedel, not expecting that kind of a solution.

Gandalf approached Ariedel and carefully pulled her to her feet. He waited for Nienna to rise before he addressed the Valar. “Would he be restored as he once was?”

Mandos inclined his head in response.

Ariedel pulled herself from Gandalf’s hold. “Are you kidding me? The only thing that can save him is death?”

“He will be fully restored, Ariedel,” said Gandalf, trying to calm her.

“Let me get this straight,” she said, her anger building with every second that passed. “If he doesn’t get himself killed today fighting the alien queen, someone’s going to have to finish him off. And who’s going to do it? Aragorn? Thranduil? Me? You give me the name of a single person who thinks they can take his life.”

“Tis for his own good,” said Gandalf beside her, although he was not at all certain whether he himself would even be able to end Legolas’s life.

Ariedel turned angry eyes to the wizard. “Then you do it!” She rudely turned her back on him and the Valar and began to walk away. Then without slowing her steps, she looked over her shoulder. “You can keep your immortality! I don’t want it!” She slammed the door after she exited and the sound echoed throughout the expansive hall.

Gandalf turned to the Valar. “You must forgive her, please. She means not to be rude. She is not of this world and knows no better.”

“You need not make excuses for her, Olórin,” said Irmo. “We do not fault her for her anger. Her love for him is unmistakable and the situation that has been forced upon them is truly loathsome. She continually battles herself, desperately trying to right the wrong that is clearly beyond her control.”

“And what of Legolas?” asked Gandalf. “He has been aloof and seeks no aid from family or friends. What are his thoughts?”

“He seems to have attained an ability to conceal his thoughts from me,” replied Irmo. “I have been unable to reach his mind to bring him the peace he so readily needs. On the other hand, I do hear whispers drifting in the wind. He communicates with the creatures and there is much aggression in his tone.”

Gandalf ran his fingers over his snow white beard. “The alien traits forced into his body are his bane. We feared he might unite with the beasts and battle against us. It seems our fears were misplaced. He desires to kill them with a passion that far exceeds thoughts of his own safety.”

“He is an Elf,” said Manwë, speaking for the first time since appearing in the hall. “First and foremost. Let us not forget that the Firstborn are dearest to Ilúvatar. Legolas suffers and we must do all we can to restore him to the Elf that he was. If death is all that can save him, so be it.”

Gandalf lowered his gaze to the floor. He knew it would be a difficult task, but if need be, he would find the strength to do it himself. “It shall be done upon his return to Ilmarin.”

Nienna turned sorrowful eyes to him. “Go in peace, Olórin.”

Gandalf raised his eyes once again and nodded. Between blinks, the five Valar vanished. He released a heavy sigh before turning and walking out of the Hall of Manwë.

Dropship One

Freak hated having serious discussions over the com, especially when he had absolutely no interest in the conversation. “Look, Bishop intercepted the communication from the Company ship. They don’t have the faintest fucking clue that the base is gone.”

The voice that replied to him on his ear device belonged to Dr Jordan Messer. “And just how long do you think they’re going to sit around and wait before they send someone down to investigate.”

“Jordi, you of all people should know how they operate. They’ll wait to hear from Train.”

“Indefinitely?”

“We’ll be out of here before they figure out what the hell happened.”

“What about Quinn?”

“What about him?”

“Is it really necessary to keep him under guard every minute? He’s asking for a little privacy to take care of certain bodily functions.”

“Tell him he should be more concerned about one of those pretty Elves deciding to butt fuck him within an inch of his life for what he did to one of their own.” He heard Zion and Sanchez burst into laughter somewhere behind him.

“You haven’t changed a bit, Dane.”

“Honey, unless you call me Freak, this conversation is over.”

“All right, Freak. I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Kiss kiss.” Freak switched off the com device on his ear and glanced over his shoulder at Takashi. “Where the heck is he?”

Takashi checked his panel. “Five degrees starboard, fifty kilometers.”

“Shit, he’s really booking.” Freak accelerated the Dropship. Then he tapped on his com. “Bishop, are we at least heading in the general direction of the bugs?”

“We’re right on target, boss,” replied Bishop.

Freak wasn’t at all surprised that Legolas knew where he was going. The Elf was in constant contact with the queen and probably knew her exact location without the help from any alien tracking system. “Are we still looking at five of them?”

“Affirmative.”

“What’re you hoping one of them dropped dead?” Zion humorously asked over the com.

“Something like that.”

Dropship Two

Legolas stared through the windshield as the Dropship passed the ground beneath at an incredible velocity. Although he was focused on where he was headed, his thoughts strayed to Ariedel and the others who desperately wanted him to remember them. He did not doubt their sincerity toward him and wished he knew how he was expected to behave. What had he been like before his memories were taken from him? Was he typically mild-mannered or was he perpetually temperamental as he was feeling that moment?

The constant droning of the aliens in his mind was abruptly interrupted by the queen as she entered his thoughts. She called to him, telling him that her wounds had healed. She was strong again. Although Legolas did not recall the incident, the queen gave him images of their previous confrontation in a cave. Through her eyes, he watched himself shooting at her before he and another man were knocked off their feet by the queen’s wing. She repeated the image again, telling him that he would not walk away this time.

Legolas angrily clenched his teeth and communicated his desire to see her and her minions dead. He allowed her to continue projecting her thoughts. He knew that if he ignored her long enough, she would eventually leave his mind, as she had done on previous occasions. Instead he took the moment to reflect upon this instinct to kill these creatures. He recalled the words spoken by the woman named Jordan, when he had been eavesdropping from the rooftop. She said Leland had programmed him that way on purpose, to have a natural hatred for the aliens and want them dead at all costs. So be it.

What the queen did not know was that Legolas was coming with some serious firepower. The Dropship was loaded with missiles and rockets, not to mention cannons that fired hundreds of rounds of armor-piercing bullets. Legolas intended to use whatever force was at his disposal. He was not prejudice as to the manner in which she needed to be destroyed. Whether it took five minutes to kill her or five days, it did not matter to him.

Ilmarin

Ariedel walked into the room that had been used as central headquarters and housed the portable workstation consisting of the communications terminal and a small laptop. It was also storage for all the weapons Freak and the others had brought down from The Rebel to arm the Elves when they had gone out to eliminate the aliens. The weapons were all lined up in row on the tables, waiting to be returned to Freak’s ship.

She surveyed those in the room. Lipinski monitored the workstation, occasionally responding to Freak whenever he was called. Gimli, Frodo and Bilbo sat near the threshold of the balcony, each smoking a long-stemmed pipe. Ripley and Jordan humored Eldarion, Anwar, Elladan and Elrohir with several card tricks, while Alfirin looked on with a smile, trying not to think about the danger her son might be in. Thranduil, Elrond, Celeborn and Galadriel stood together, quietly discussing the final migration of Elves from Eryn Lasgalen. Aragorn and Arwen discussed the latest happenings in Gondor and Rohan with Haldir and Glorfindel. Phillip Quinn was guarded by the two white tigers, Rhovan and Cail, who were under strict orders from Freak to treat him as if he were a mass murderer.

Ariedel walked toward her father-in-law, who turned as she approached. “I must speak with you.” Then she turned to Alfirin and motioned for her to follow as well. The three of them left the room and stepped out onto one of the many balconies throughout the length of the corridor. When they were finally alone, Ariedel took a deep breath and tried to keep her tears at bay. “I just had the strangest conversation with the Valar.”

“The Valar?” asked Thranduil in surprise. “All fourteen of them?”

“No, there were only five. But don’t ask me which ones. Or at least I don’t know who four of them were. One of them introduced herself as Nienna.”

“The Lady of Pity and Mourning,” said Alfirin. “Why did they seek an audience with you, Ariedel?”

Ariedel decided to leave out the part about Legolas’s wish to the Valar to grant her immortality. “They told me of a way to undo what was done to Legolas.” Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

Alfirin suddenly gripped Thranduil’s arm. “I know the method of which they speak.” Then she turned sorrowful eyes to Ariedel. “Only in death can he be restored.”

“That’s what they told me,” Ariedel said as she wiped at the tears in her eyes, determined to speak her mind. “I know everyone here values the opinions of the Valar and to be honest I don’t know what they are, Gods or whatever. But until I have proof of their powers, I’m not going to believe in their approach. I mean, an Elf needs to die in order to be restored to the ones that love him? Is that like reincarnation?” She laughed without humor and continued to wipe at her tears.

“We understand your concerns, Ariedel,” Alfirin softly said. “The thought of death is never pleasant. But I am certain you will soon understand, when you witness with your own eyes the Elves that perished throughout this ordeal being returned to Valinor from the Halls of Mandos.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it. But most of all, I don’t want to have to hope Legolas gets himself killed while fighting the queen so he doesn’t have to come back here only to be killed by someone close to him. What kind of a message are we sending out to him if that happens? Oh, honey, so glad you’re all right, but guess what, I’m going to have to kill you now.” She laughed humorlessly again and angrily shook her head. “It’s not fair.”

Thranduil reached out and placed his hand on Ariedel’s cheek. “Fear not, penneth. Things will improve.” (little one)

Ariedel hadn’t prayed in a long time. And if she had an inkling as to what she even wanted to hope for, she would have sent a silent prayer to the God she believed in.

Dropship Two

Legolas eased up on the Dropship’s speed as he neared his destination. Looming up ahead were a cluster of mountains, running from the eastern shore and continuing almost endlessly to the west. Two of the mountains were tall and disappeared beyond the thick clouds overhead. He swiveled in the seat and leaned backward to view the radar panel. A second bleep on the screen revealed how far away the other Dropship was from his location. They would arrive in less than ten minutes at their present speed. Legolas wanted to end this before they interfered.

He returned to the console in front of him and slowed the Dropship to a crawl as he pushed a button. Outside the Dropship, its four missile launching wings slowly unfurled, making it now the deadliest vessel on the entire planet. He placed both hands on the semi-circle shaped steering wheel, his thumbs brushing lightly over the small buttons that controlled the missiles and cannons on either side of the ship. His eyes scanned the landscape ahead as he brought the Dropship to a stop, hovering twenty feet above the ground.

There were hundreds of places the queen and the remaining four drones could be hiding. The landscape was nearly black, so they could easily be camouflaged behind the rocks.

Legolas pushed the buttons on the steering wheel and the cannons released several blasts into the mountains ahead, scattering left and right as he tilted the ship in both directions to cover more ground. The corner of his lips curled into a smile when he saw two slender black shapes flee. He turned the ship slightly and released a missile. The resulting explosion sent rock and dirt into the air, as well as disintegrating the two aliens that had tried to escape.

From the corner of his eye he saw the other two fleeing to the right. He nudged the ship around and blasted them to pieces with the cannons. Then he centered the nose of the ship again, eyes scanning left and right for any further movement. The queen was hidden somewhere and she had yet to project any images to him since he arrived, obviously to prevent him from determining her exact location. But he could hear her angered protests in his head. She was near.

Legolas glanced at the panel that informed him of his weapons status. He had five missiles and two rockets left on the upper and lower left wings, four missiles and three rockets on the upper and lower right wings. Of the nine missiles, five of them were heat seekers, which did him no good since the queen gave off no heat signature. There were four hundred and forty-five rounds left in the cannons, so he decided he could spare a few just to coax her out of hiding. He pushed both buttons and the cannons came to life, shooting double rows of blasts into the mountainside. Several seconds and a hundred and ten rounds later, he released the buttons, waiting for the dust to settle.

Just then a large shape burst from the dust and soared over the top of the Dropship. Legolas turned the wheel and cursed the time it took for the ship to spin around. He saw the queen ahead, flying higher into the sky. As he accelerated after her, he wondered where she had attained the ability for such high speed.

The queen screeched loudly as the ship hastened toward her. She sensed the being within it, sensed his determination to end her life. She altered her course and flew to the left, entering a narrow crevasse through the mountains.

Legolas turned the wheel and pursued the alien queen, following a narrow gorge as it twisted and wound through the mountains. He watched her movements, the rise and fall of her skeletal body as her wings swooped upward and downward in flight. Up ahead he noted a large piece of rock jutting out. He released a missile into it. The rock burst into pieces that rained down on her, nearly forcing her to the ground. But she regained her height and speed and continued on.

As Legolas continued the pursuit, he wondered if she was purposely leading him in this direction, into a trap. She veered slightly and entered a tunnel. Legolas crossed the threshold without pause. The Dropship’s external lights came on automatically, lighting the way, even though his Elven eyes could have seen in the darkness. He pursued her for several minutes before the tunnel opened into an enormous cavern. She circled around the perimeter and he drew the Dropship to a stop, hovering well above the ground and blocking the way.

The queen’s screeches echoed loudly in the cavern as she sought another escape route.

Legolas’s eyes scanned the interior of the cavern, wondering about the stability of the surrounding rock. Even now rock was crumbling all around, disturbed by the heavy passage of the alien queen. Releasing a missile would bring down the rock in the cavern, but it might also bring down the tunnel he had just come through.

Perhaps the queen sensed his indecision because she softly landed on a rock perch, her wings still open for quick flight if needed.

Then an idea formed in his head. After switching the hovering Dropship to auto-pilot, Legolas unstrapped himself from the seat and went in back. He punched the button to lower a hatch with several steps. On the way to the hatch he grabbed his bow and quiver. He hopped down to the last step of the hatch and crouched.

The queen paced, agitatedly screeching and gurgling. Small rocks fell from the ceiling, disturbed by her heavy footfalls echoing throughout the cavern. When they struck the massive crest at the back of her head, she hissed at unknown assailants, as if they surrounded her.

Legolas notched an arrow to his bow and took aim, stretching the bowstring further and further to achieve maximum speed and distance. He released the arrow and watched with satisfaction as it embedded in the flesh above her upper row of teeth. But he did not waste any time and notched another arrow. His second ran through her left shoulder. A third went into her throat.

The queen furiously screeched and ripped at the arrows. Then without warning, she was airborne and charging at the Dropship.

Legolas’s eyes widened and he had just enough time to grab hold of something solid before she slammed into the front of the Dropship. He lost his balance and nearly toppled from the steps, holding to the last rung with his right hand. In his left hand was his bow. When he looked up, he watched his quiver slowly fall over the side. Thinking quickly, he caught the strap around his foot before the quiver fell to the ground below.

The queen rammed the front of the Dropship again, violently shaking it. Her thunderous shrieks brought more rocks raining down from the ceiling.

Legolas tossed his bow through the hatch first, then pulled his foot up to grab the strap belonging to his quiver which he also tossed inside. Then he pulled himself up. He waited to make sure the hatch sealed properly before rushing to the cockpit.

Through the windshield he could see the queen clinging to the nose of the Dropship. Her jaws parted in fury. Legolas strapped himself back into the seat, took the ship off auto-pilot and pushed the button to fold the weapon wings into the body of the Dropship. No longer thinking about his own survival, he pushed the wheel forward, accelerating toward a large stalactite hanging from the ceiling.

The queen writhed and screeched, taking a firm hold of whatever protruded on the ship. She lost her grip as the ship crashed through the stalactite.

The contact with the stalactite smashed both light beams and the cavern was thrown into complete darkness. Luckily Legolas’s Elven sight penetrated the murkiness and he pulled back on the wheel before the Dropship slammed into the far wall. He spun the ship around, hearing the crunch of metal scraping the rock wall, but he had no time to assess the damage to the ship’s tail. He searched for the queen and saw her soaring for the tunnel. “Shit!”

Dropship One

Freak stared at the darkness in the tunnel as he hovered the Dropship just inside the threshold. “Sushi, are you sure he went in there?”

Takashi checked his screen for the tenth time. “Yes, yes! The signal’s loud and clear. In fact, I think he’s coming back out.”

“What? I don’t see anything.” Freak scanned ahead for the other Dropship. Just then a ghastly winged apparition right out of hell came straight for him. The entire ship shook as the queen flew overhead, missing them by inches. He put a hand on his chest, thinking he was having a heart attack for sure. But then his attention was drawn by something else. The light beams of his Dropship were beginning to pick up something else approaching in a rush. “Holy shit!” The other Dropship was heading right for them and there wasn’t enough room for two.

Dropship Two

Legolas’s eyes widened when he spied the other Dropship hovering at the opening of the tunnel. He knew he was going far too fast to stop in time. At the last second, he tilted the wheel to the left and the Dropship tipped on its side. As if their minds had been linked, the other Dropship tipped sideways at the same time. Legolas passed within inches of them and he could not refrain from smiling and waving his fingers at Freak, who he could clearly see through the other windshield.

But his humor was short-lived as he spotted the queen ahead, heading toward the open sea.

Dropship One

Takashi kicked the seat in front of him. “Freak! Wake up!”

Freak shook his dazed head. “What the fuck? Did you see that?” He righted the Dropship and then slowly spun it around before accelerating out of the tunnel. “Where are they?”

“Over the water,” replied Takashi.

Freak slowed the Dropship and watched through the windshield. The other Dropship followed the flying alien queen closely, both cannons blazing.

Dropship Two

Legolas tried to herd the queen back toward shore, altering her route with the cannons. He did not want to loose her in the water and worry whether he had killer her. When she flew over land again, he released a missile.

Sheer luck made it fly right through her left wing, creating a large enough hole to hinder the queen’s flight. She shrieked as she quickly lost altitude and hurled toward the ground.

Legolas followed her down and fired the cannons for good measure. He watched with satisfaction as her skeletal body jerked from the multiple impacts. When she crumpled to the ground, sending showers of dirt into the air, Legolas spun the Dropship around so he could stare into her face before he killed her. She was shrieking and writhing on the ground, trying to find strength to stand.

Without any further delay, Legolas released his last missiles. The ground erupted into flames and he was forced to back off a bit. From the corner of his eye he saw the other Dropship approach and release two of its own missiles.

Then Legolas noticed something else. Dead silence in his head. The continual grumbling from the queen and all of her drones abruptly ceased. The silence was almost unnerving and he felt light-headed from it.

It was finally over.

Dropship One

Bishop’s voice came over Freak’s com. “That’s it. I’m not picking up anymore alien signals.”

Freak sighed heavily. “Halleluiah!” When the fire had died and the dust had settled, all that remained were charred pieces of what could barely be recognized as the alien queen. He eased the Dropship closer to the other and waited for Legolas to look in his direction before tapping his com device.

A minute later Legolas placed a device over his ear.

“That was some pretty fancy flying, Lego.”

Legolas’s voice came over the com. “Tis not so difficult.”

Freak smiled and nodded. “Yeah, right.” He saw the Elf smile back at him. “So listen, you’ve got an extremely worried wife who’s been busting my nuts to give her play by play details of what’s happening.”

“Tell her I am fine and I will see her…shortly.”

“You can tell her yourself when we get back.”

“Go on ahead to Ilmarin. I need to return to the tunnel and retrieve something of value to me.”

Freak remained silent for a minute, contemplating whether to follow him. Then he decided he didn’t really want to go into that dark tunnel anyway. “Okay, we’ll see you back in a few.”

Dropship Two

Legolas waited until Freak’s Dropship accelerated in a northerly direction and was completely out of sight before he reached behind him and smashed the transponder panel with his fist. He yanked at the wires to sever them, just for good measure. Then he swung the Dropship around in the direction of his destination.

Ilmarin

Ariedel could barely contain herself as she waited for the Dropship to land in the center of the courtyard. The ramp lowered and she rushed forward passed the others until she found Freak.

Freak held his hands up. “Relax, princess, he’s fine.” Then he frowned at the unmistakable reaction on her face, almost as if she had wanted to hear differently. “What’s with that look?”

Ariedel ignored the question, immediately feeling guilty for wishing that Legolas hadn’t survived the battle with the queen. But then she thought about what awaited him here and who was going to take matters into their own hands and put Legolas out of his misery. After that unpleasantness, he would be restored once again to the way he was before Weyland-Yutani got a hold of him. “Where is he?”

“He should be on his way back soon. He lost something and had to go back and get it.”

Ariedel followed Freak and the others inside to their temporary headquarters.

“I just picked up a pretty strange transmission,” said Lipinski as he relieved his seat to Bishop. “You might want to check it out, Bishop.”

Freak walked up. “What was strange about it?”

“Looks like the crew of the Company ship abandoned in an escape pod a few minutes ago. They were trying to call down to the research base, which we know is no longer there. Their transmission said something about them picking up a small ship requesting help and then the Company ship suddenly went into self-destruct mode.”

Freak suddenly felt like someone kicked him in the gut. “What ship requesting help?”

Lipinski shrugged. “I don’t know. They picked up an SOS and allowed the ship onboard. Then within minutes they went into full self-destruct mode.”

Freak pushed Lipinski out of the way, but Bishop was already a step ahead of him, manning the workstation before he could utter a word. “Where’s my Dropship, Bishop?”

Bishop punched keys on the keyboard and numbers scrolled the screen. “I’m not picking up anything. No signal.”

“Goddammit, it’s gotta be there somewhere!”

Ariedel approached. “What’s going on? Where’s Legolas?”

Bishop rapidly punched more keys. “I’m patching into the Company ship’s computer logs.” He paused to read the information scrolling far too fast for human eyes. “Looks like our Dropship was allowed to dock. The serial numbers match. Five minutes after the Dropship was secure, the computer reported initiation of a full self-destruct sequence.”

“Oh, fuck,” said Freak, covering his mouth.

Bishop continued in his quiet, calm voice. “Ship personnel evacuated in two escape pods currently heading for the surface and the Company ship has left orbit.”

Ariedel grabbed Freak’s arm. “Please don’t tell me Legolas is on that Company ship.” She had visions of him purposely choosing to stay on the ship when it self-destructed and then suddenly wondered if he would still make it to the Halls of Mandos from space.

Bishop sighed and all eyes turned to him as he glanced up from the screen. “Self-destruct was aborted…just before the ship went into hyperspace.”

Ariedel tried to digest what Bishop had just said. She quickly realized that the technological knowledge programmed into Legolas would have given him the ability to do exactly what just happened. She imagined Legolas had tricked the Company crew into believing he was in trouble and they allowed him to dock. He initiated the self-destruct sequence, forcing everyone onboard to abandon ship. He set the ship in motion, taking it out of orbit. He aborted the self-destruct and took the ship into hyperspace.

But why?

“Holy shit…he’s gone.” Freak closed his eyes in utter defeat. There was no telling where the Company ship was headed now that it had entered hyperspace.

Ariedel’s knees gave out and she collapsed on the floor. She turned tear-filled eyes up to Freak, the misery she felt was consuming her until she could barely get any words out. “What am I going to do?” She knew he didn’t have an answer.

The End